Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Recently, I picked up a bag of snapshots at a flea market and inside were these! I always get a kick out of seeing silly snaps and here we can share in some backwoods silliness from these two girls. Wait, did I say two girls? There's just one really tall girl posing behind a tree, right? Shh...just play along.

Sorry to break the illusion, but the head in the above photo belongs to the booty in the next photo and vice versa.

Oops! Looks like the head is showing a bit too much leg. Let me fix that for her.

There you go! Now the illusion works much better with the aid of photoshop.

Unfortunately the snapshots are void of any identification. The photos that were in the same bag are marked Pocahontas, Arkansas. So, it's a good guess that these gals were goofing off over seventy years ago in the Ozarks.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Here in Neato Coolville we're all about preserving the past. It's very important, because everything is temporary and everything changes. We now live in an age where things can easily be saved digitally. Images, sounds and writings can survive long after the physical material has disappeared.

Last week, my grandmother passed away. She lived a long and fruitful life to the age of 101. She experienced and witnessed many wonderful things and overcame many adversities. She had a century's worth of knowledge and memories that she always enjoyed sharing. We're all going to miss her dearly. Fortunately for us and for her descendants we have audio and video recordings of her telling stories and sharing what life was like back in the old days.

Today I just want to encourage everyone to preserve their own family heritage by recording interviews with your loved ones. It's nice to have video, but I find it easier and less intrusive to simply use the recording device on my smart phone. Before you start, make sure to have a list of questions to help keep the conversation going. Ask about regular daily activities, about their jobs, their hobbies, favorite foods, favorite movies etc. I always made a point to ask about major historical events and where or what they were doing at the time. Questions about past family members and friends always works as a fun conversation starter. I learned so much about relatives that came before me and now have a better understanding of who they were. Also, use photographs, props or things from their past to help jog a memory.

By the way, this isn't just a thing to preserve the memories of grandparents. Do the same with your parents, yourself and even your kids. How many of us would get a kick out of hearing an interview with our childhood selves. I know I would!

Okay, so get out there and have some fun and preserve some family history! Do it today, before all those precious memories are lost forever. Just hit the record button!!!